Healthy Communities Healthy People Message Frame Op-Ed Template

OP/ED FOR CUSTOMIZATION

Creating communities that support all of our health

Being healthy is about far more than going to the doctor. It’s about living in a community that supports health every day by helping people eat well, stay active, and breathe clean air. But that’s not the reality today. Too many Oregonians live, learn, work and play in places devoid of healthy options. If we are truly committed to improving health and controlling health care costs, this has to change.

In many communities across the state, people lack access to healthy options. For people of color, people living with low incomes or disabilities, and other underserved Oregonians, the gap is even wider. Workplace vending machines are stocked with junk food. Communities lack sidewalks and safe bike routes. Kids breathe secondhand smoke at home and at the park. An order of burger and fries at a fast-food restaurant is cheaper and easier to find than fresh fruit and vegetables. Look around and you’ll find many more examples.

These community conditions are largely to blame for the rise in chronic diseases like asthma, heart disease, diabetes, arthritis and cancer. This comes at tremendous cost, physically, emotionally and economically. Each year chronic conditions claim 19,000 lives and account for $16 billion in health care costs.

One solution for this crisis is increasing access to foods and activities that help people live better, regardless of their income, education or ethnicity. Healthy options where we live, work, learn and play should be expected, not something we have to search out. Everyone needs access to health screenings to prevent chronic diseases or find them early, and support to live a healthy life if they do have a chronic disease.

The new Coordinated Care Organizations are taking a significant step in this direction by linking care providers, partnering with community organizations and focusing on prevention. We can augment their work by changing our communities through smart policies that promote health.

This includes public policies and laws like the Smokefree Workplace Law, which ensures that nearly 100 percent of Oregon workers is protected from secondhand smoke at work, or the . It also includes policies that govern our workplaces, schools and communities, such as .

Here in , that means we need to support .

We invite everyone here in to join us in this effort. By working together, we can make sure that everyone in our community—and in our state—has the opportunity to be healthy. Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention TALKING POINTS Page 2 of 2